What comes to your mind when you hear “fleas?” For me, they conjure images of terrifying little bloodsucking fleas that infest homes and are hard to get rid of. After dealing with fleas several times myself, dealing with their removal has never been an enjoyable experience – plus, they’re notoriously hard to eradicate!
As soon as my dog got fleas a few years back, I panicked. In all my years as an owner of pets I’d never dealt with fleas before – until then! So off to the store we went where we bought a variety of products before treating my pups – each treatment seemed to make a difference, yet soon afterwards the fleas would return a few days (or weeks) later!
After learning more about their life cycle, I began to gain more understanding as to why fleas keep coming back, as well as effective methods of eliminating them. Here are three reasons why fleas are difficult to eradicate from dogs’ fur, as well as steps you should take if you encounter fleas on them.
Fleas Can Lay Up to 50 Eggs Per Day
Fleas are notoriously hard to remove due to their ability to reproduce rapidly – an adult female flea will typically lay 20-30 eggs each day on average, although some species can lay up to 50. Therefore, treating for adults alone won’t do; you need to treat both themselves and their surroundings to rid of eggs left behind from previous infestations.
Fleas require access to food in order to lay eggs; in the case of fleas this means feeding on their host animal’s blood. Flea eggs have an oval-shaped eggshell with smooth surfaces; when first laid they may be sticky but quickly dry out after being exposed to air; since fleas only lay their eggs on one host (usually our pets), those eggs end up all over.
Fleas are notoriously hard to eradicate from our pets. While treating adult fleas when we spot them is important, oftentimes we forget the eggs left behind which hatch weeks later and start the cycle all over again.
Once fleas have entered your home, it is necessary to eliminate them at every life stage, including their eggs. As flea eggs fall from their hosts onto carpets, carpet fibers, cracks & crevices, pet beds & under furniture where they remain until vacuumed up or removed manually by vacuuming and/or mopping regularly – especially where dogs like to roam freely around your property – for optimal control. It’s imperative that these steps be repeated when trying to rid yourself of fleas! Especially where dogs frequently come running free in or residing near any areas your dog frequents frequently when trying to eradicate fleas from inhabiting.
Flea Life Cycle
Another difficulty of eliminating fleas lies within their life cycle, which we often fail to notice. Although treatments exist that work effectively against adult fleas, those treatments don’t necessarily address all four stages of their lifecycle.
Fleas have four stages in their life cycle — egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The egg stage lasts anywhere from two days to two weeks while larva develops over several weeks by eating “flea dirt” (adult flea waste) or organic material found in its environment. Pupa stage or cocoon stage lasts only days or weeks in ideal environments but can protect the developing flea until emergence as an adult flea; otherwise the cocoon may keep protecting it for months or even years until conditions allow full development as an adult flea.
As previously stated, female fleas can lay up to 50 eggs each day, so it’s critical that when trying to eliminate fleas from your home it is periodically cleaned and vacuumed thoroughly. Any eggs left behind could hatch into adult fleas which would bring on another infestation cycle.
Not All Flea Treatments Work the Same
When it comes to selecting flea treatments for your pet, there are numerous choices. From prescription medication and IGRs (insect growth regulators), to sprays, foggers, collars and spot on treatments; selecting one can be dauntingly complex and time consuming. With so many choices out there for purchase it can become confusing to select an effective one – however this only compounds confusion!
No one here can tell you exactly which treatment will work, but most don’t effectively interrupt the flea lifecycle. IGRs for instance will kill adult fleas, eggs and larvae but will not disrupt pupae development; as a result you may notice fleas appear again several weeks after using IGRs; that doesn’t make them useless — rather it means that in addition to IGRs you should also treat your environment with something that kills pupae too!
So how can we treat the environment? A comprehensive cleaning and vacuuming regime. Though this may sound simple, this practice is actually effective at picking up all those pesky eggs, larva, and pupa that fleas have left behind. Once your dog has been treated for fleas it’s important to focus on cleaning floors where your pup spends the most time – such as areas where she frequents.
